House fires cause huge amounts of damage every year. Fires produce devastating flames and intense heat, both of which can consume personal and real property in a matter of minutes. The water used by fire fighters, or disbursed by installed sprinkler systems, is meant to quench both the flame and the heat, but a large volume of water is generally necessary to do so. Because of this, property which is not burned in the fire or the heat is often ruined or severely damaged in the fire-fighting efforts.
Real property, and much personal property, can often be replaced through fire insurance. However, items such as photographs, scrapbooks, home videos, official documents such as wills, trusts, deeds, passports, and the like, have important or sentimental value that cannot be determined or recovered. These can be the greatest losses in a house fire. It is important to constantly protect such items, because fires occur without warning. Many safes protect against fires, but safes are expensive, heavy, bulky, and have a finite storage volume. Moreover, safes can be difficult to unlock and open, reducing the likelihood that the safes' contents are frequently accessed and appreciated. A versatile system for storing and archiving sentimental and other important items is needed.